Work control and scheduling device



Dec. 26, 1967 w. A. STEWARD 3,359,666

WORK CONTROL AND SCHEDULING DEVICE Filed July 29, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. WILLIAM A. STEWARD BY FIG. 3 A7 ATTORNEYS Dec. 26, 1967 w. A. STEWARD WORK CONTROL AND SCHEDULING DEVICE Z SheetS-Sheet 2 Filed July 29, 1965 FIG. 4

' INVENTOR.

WILLIAM A. STEWARD FIG. 5

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,359,666 WORK CONTROL AND SCHEDULING DEVICE William A. Steward, Somerset Calif. 95684 Filed July 29, 1965, Ser. No. 475,773 3 Claims. (Cl. 40-62) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A work control and scheduling device having a frame member with a hard surface backing member mounted thereon with two rollers mounted at one end of the backing member, a third roller mounted on the opposite end of the backing member and a fourth roller mounted on the frame member with an endless writing surface trained over the four rollers which is substantially more than twice as wide as the work control device. A motor drive can also be provided for traversing the writing surface.

This invention relates generally to a work control and scheduling device and specifically relates to improvements on the devices shown in my Patent 2,904,915 and pending application Ser. No. 275,559, filed Apr. 25, 1963 now patent No. 3,224,128 issued Dec. 21, 1965.

In my prior structures, rollers were mounted near opposite ends of the device with a transparent, flexible writing surface trained over the roller, so that the maximum length of the writing surface was a little less than twice the width of the device or slightly more than twice the distance between the centers of the two rollers. In many applications, it is desirable to provide for a much longer writing surface, as for instance when it is desired to schedule a plan for a year in advance. Obviously, there is a practical width to such charts since if they are made more than about six feet wide, they become unwieldy and require a great amount of wall space. Further, if the writing surface is made very long, it becomes a somewhat slow process to move the entire writing surface by hand to the visible portion of the device as might be desired when reviewing a years work.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved work and scheduling device wherein the writing surface may be made substantially more than twice the width of the device. For instance, in one practical embodiment of the device, a transparent writing surface fifteen feet long was incorporated in a device only about four feet wide.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved work control and scheduling device wherein a motor is employed to traverse the writing surface.

In accordance with still another object of this invention, an improved device is provided wherein a motor is provided with a slip clutch for actuating the writing surface so that the writing surface can be moved either by use of the motor or by hand.

Other objects will be apparent from the balance of the specification which follows.

In the drawings forming part of this application:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a device embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front view of another device embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a front view of still another device embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of FIG- URE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a top perspective view of a device similar "ice to that shown in FIGURE 5 but embodying an alternate mounting arrangement for the rollers.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGURES 1 and 2, there is shown a device having a side frame member 7, a back frame member 9 and a bottom frame member 11. Mounted on the frame members is a hard surface backing member 13 which is suitably provided with suitable lines or grid markings. This may be a mere support surface of a hard material such as plywood or plastic, but preferably is made of iron or other ferromagnetic material so that magnet indicators can be held thereby. A transparent, flexible writing member 15 passes over the surface 13, held by rollers 17 and 19 located at either end of hard surface 13. In addition, rollers 21 and 23 permit the flexible, transparent member to be doubled back upon itself so that by the employment of four rollers the length of the sleeve is substantially four times the width of the device. It will be noted that roller 19 is substantially larger than the other rollers to provide the necessary clearance and also provide a large area for easy hard actuation of the flexible writing member. At the left hand side of the device is an index sheet 25 which extends from the left margin of the device and at least partially overlies the roller 17. A Today Line 18 may also be provided.

In order to provide for rapid traverse, motors 27 and 29 are connected by belts 31 and 33 to pulleys attached to roller 17. In this embodiment, two motors are employed, one of which drives it in the opposite direction so that one can energize one or the other of the motors depending on which direction the chart is to be moved. Instead of using two motors, a single reversing motor could be employed. A top housing 35 completes the assembly and serves to conceal and to protect the top portion of the chart.

In the embodiment of the device shown in FIGURE 3, the parts are generally the same except that here a motor 37 is mounted over roller 17 rather than beside it and the motor drives roller 17 through a slip clutch 39. Normally the motor 37 would be of the geared down type. In addition, one or more light tubes 41 and 43 can be provided at the top of the chart with the whole enclosed in a cover 45. If desired, a second motor 47 may also be employed as before. Since the motor is connected by means of a slip clutch to the roller, the chart can be moved either by actuating the motor or by hand pressure on the transparent writing surface. Thus one has the advantage of a rapid motor traverse as well as exact hand positioning.

In FIGURE 4 another embodiment of the device as shown having a frame member 49 which supports a hard backing member 51 suitably provided with markings and an index 53 at the left hand side. The writing surface 51 is provided with brackets 53A and 55, the former having rollers 57 and 59 mounted for rotation thereon, while the latter has rollers 61 and 53 similarly mounted for rotation. The flexible writing surface 65 is trained over the rollers as is shown and it can be seen that the length of the writing surface is approximately four times the width of the overall device. Further, since the roller 63 protrudes beyond one end of the device, the flexible writing surface can be evenly moved to any desired place by slight hand pressure on the writing surface overlying this roller.

In FIGURE 6 modification of this device is shown wherein bracket 67 is mounted on frame member 49 while bracket 69 is mounted on backing member 51. The rollers at the opposite end of the device are as illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5. By mounting at least one of the rollers on the frame member and at least one of the rollers on backing member, it can be seen that the tension on the flexible writing surface 65 can be easily adjusted it by moving the backing member relative to the frame member.

Although certain specific embodiments have been shown, these are for illustrative purposes only and it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made in the exact structure shown without departing from the spirit of this invention. For instance, four rollers have been shown, providing a writing surface length of approximately four times the width of the device, but other numbers might be employed. For instance,

of approximately six times the width of the device. Further, in each instance the right end roller is shown as being larger than the other rollers to provide clearance on the return path, but the rollers could all be made of the same size and a fifth roller or guide be used to secure the required clearance.

Various driving combinations can be used, such as the employment of two motors to drive the chart in opposite directions or a single reversing motor might be employed. Various forms of friction clutches can be used.

I claim:

1. A Work control and scheduling device comprising in combination:

(a) a frame;

(b) a hard surfaced backing member slidably mounted in front of said frame;

(c) first and second rollers mounted on one end of said backing member;

((1) a third roller mounted on said backing member at the opposite end thereof;

(e) a fourth roller mounted on said frame, said roller being independent of said backing member and (f) an endless, flexible transparent writing surface trained over the first, fourth, second and third rollers successively, and passing in front of said backing member between said second and third rollers, said Writing surface being substantially more than twice the width of the scheduling device, whereby tension on the flexible writing surface can be adjusted by sliding the backing member relative to the frame.

2. In a work control and scheduling device constructed in accordance with claim 1 further comprising a motor connected to at least one roller whereby said transparent writing surface can be propelled over the backing member by said motor.

3. The structure of claim 2 wherein a friction clutch is interposed between the motor and a roller whereby the writing surface can be moved over the backing member either by hand or by the motor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 750,226 1/ 1904 Ruttman 96 2,364,786 12/1944 Hall 40-33 2,419,802 4/ 1947 Van Horne 40-31 2,800,7 3 3 7/1957 Chevillon 4031 2,819,544 1/ 1958 Yoshioka 40 -32 2,904,915 9/1959 Steward 40-96 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. H. GRIEB, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A WORK CONTROL AND SCHEDULING DEVICE COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: (A) A FRAME; (B) A HARD SURFACED BACKING MEMBER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN FRONT OF SAID FRAME; (C) FIRST AND SECOND ROLLERS MOUNTED ON ONE END OF SAID BACKING MEMBER; (D) A THIRD ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID BACKING MEMBER AT THE OPPOSITE END THEREOF; (E)F A FOURTH ROLLER MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, SAID ROLLER BEING INDEPENDENT OF SAID BACKING MEMBER AND (F) AN ENDLESS, FLEXIBLE TRANSPARENT WRITING SURFACE TRAINED OVER THE FIRST, FOURTH, SECOND AND THIRD ROLLERS SUCCESSIVELY, AND PASSING IN FRONT OF SAID BACKING MEMBER BETWEEN SAID SECOND AND THIRD ROLLERS, SAID WRITING SURFACE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN TWICE THE WIDTH OF THE SCHEDULING DEVICE, WHEREBY TENSION ON THE FLEXIBLE WRITING SURFACE CAN BE ADJUSTED BY SLIDING THE BACKING MEMBER RELATIVE TO THE FRAME. 